Hiring of Campaign Finance Monitor Is Urged

Councilman Mike Markey wants the city to hire an independent attorney to investigate and prosecute any violations of its strict campaign finance laws, enacted two years ago following a bitter and expensive recall effort.

Markey, one of seven candidates vying for two City Council seats in November, plans to ask his council colleagues Tuesday to spend up to $10,000 to hire an attorney to handle any complaints from residents on potential finance violations during the election season.

His political rivals had mixed views on the proposal. While some applauded it, others said a better idea would be to set up a citizen-staffed ethics committee to monitor both campaign spending and elected officials’ conduct once they are in office.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said candidate Ed Masry, the millionaire attorney made famous by the Julia Roberts movie “Erin Brockovich.” “And I think we should also look at how people are voting after they got the [campaign] money.”

Planning Commissioner Jim Bruno, another council contender, said he has long pushed for a mechanism to enforce the city law, including forming an ethics commission or hiring a judge pro tem--ideas rejected by the council.

“It’s kind of amusing that one of them is bringing it back up when they voted against it last time,” said Bruno, who chaired a committee that crafted the city’s campaign finance reforms.

But Markey said his suggestion--which comes after questions were raised on contributions he received in earlier campaigns--is a cheaper and more efficient way to enforce the campaign finance law than employing a full-time ethics commission such as in Los Angeles.

“We’ve had people come down to the City Council making accusations about myself and other colleagues about past campaign statements,” Markey said. “The best way to curtail the misinformation is for outside counsel to do it.”

The city, known for its heated and sometimes divisive elections, passed campaign finance reforms in July 1998 limiting each donor to contributions of $250, and restricting the number of $250 donations to the number of seats being contested.

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The reforms came after Jill Lederer, owner of a local Domino’s Pizza franchise, spent about $400,000 in an unsuccessful attempt to oust then-Councilwoman Elois Zeanah from office in 1997, one year before her term expired. The entire battle topped $500,000--more than anyone had ever spent on a Thousand Oaks council election.

City Atty. Mark Sellers said it would be a conflict of interest for him to investigate potential campaign finance violations against his elected bosses or any of their political challengers.

Individual citizens can ask the Ventura County district attorney’s office to investigate or file civil actions against candidates, but there was no mechanism for city enforcement included in the law, Sellers said. He added that the Fair Political Practices Commission would enforce violations of state campaign law, but not of a local ordinance.

The independent attorney proposed by Markey would receive complaints from citizens and decide what is worthy of investigation and prosecution, Sellers said. This election monitor would have the same authority as a city attorney in filing civil and criminal claims.

Hiring special prosecutors is something normally reserved for the federal government, but a handful of cities have done it, said Craig Holman, project director for campaign finance ethics at the Center for Governmental Studies, a private think-tank based in Los Angeles.

Holman, however, said he has never heard of a city hiring a special attorney to be on call to investigate complaints from residents during an election.

“The best way to handle it is to set up an ethics board--it’s a more efficient way to enforce campaign finance laws,” Holman said. “If anybody needs an ethics commission, Thousand Oaks would be a very good candidate.”

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The always contentious issue of finances in Thousand Oaks elections is particularly hot this year because of Masry’s candidacy. The Westlake Village attorney already has pledged to spend as much of his own money as it takes to win one of the two council seats.

Markey said he was concerned that Masry could subsidize Councilwoman Linda Parks’ campaign because they are running on a slate, hoping to be elected together as slow-growth proponents who say they will fight giving special favors to developers.

“I have concerns any time slates are being run because of co-mingling of funds,” Markey said.

Both Masry and Parks deny any impropriety in their campaigns and say their individual campaign finance reports--to be filed by Oct. 5--will prove they have split any shared costs, such as for mailers and campaign functions.

“Markey ought to worry more about his election and his funding instead of worrying about mine,” Masry said.

Parks said she wants the city’s law enforced, but would prefer Thousand Oaks hire an independent auditor to pore through each candidate’s financial statements rather than “doing witch hunts for publicity.”

The councilwoman also questioned whether she or Markey--both running for reelection--could even vote on Markey’s proposal in the middle of their campaigns.

Candidates Chris Buckett and Mary Harris both considered Markey’s plan to be a waste of taxpayers’ money.

“I wouldn’t support it. I don’t see the justification,” Buckett said, adding she does like the idea of a citizen-staffed ethics commission.

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Earlier this week, Masry came under fire for failing to disclose his law practice on a state-mandated conflict-of-interest form. The Thousand Oaks resident said he had planned to file an amended form and was just taking time to compile a complete list of his clients.

“Does anybody in town not know I have a law firm?” Masry asked. “Have I dug a big hole and put a 25,000-square-foot building in it? I didn’t intentionally try to hide anything.”

But Markey said the election rules dictated by the Fair Political Practices Commission should not be taken lightly.

“I’m concerned when somebody doesn’t want to follow the guidelines that are set out there,” he said.

Campaign Calendar

Upcoming Events

Saturday: The Ventura County Republican Party will hold its annual barbecue fund-raiser at Pleasant Valley Park in Camarillo, 1030 Temple Ave., from 4 to 7 p.m. Featured speaker will be Claude Parrish, member of the State Board of Equalization. Tickets $35 per person. For information, call 389-9531.

Wednesday: Candidates running for two trustee seats in the Conejo Valley Unified School District will participate in a public forum at Monte Vista Presbyterian Church in Newbury Park, 3797 W. Lynn Road, at 7 p.m. For information, call 498-0401.

Oct. 5: The Oxnard Council PTA will sponsor a candidates forum for the Oxnard School District and Oxnard Union High School District at Fremont Intermediate School cafeteria, 1130 North M St., Oxnard. Candidates in the elementary school district will speak at 7 p.m.; the high school district candidates will speak at 8 p.m.

Fax Campaign Calendar submissions to 653-7576 or 653-7548, or mail them to 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001. Please include contact name and telephone number.